Malcolm Lee

Picks 43 and 44: Picking for Minnesota, Chicago takes Malcolm Lee, and the Timberwolves get some depth at their weakest position. Chad Ford reports that the Wolves considered taking Lee at 20, and yet still managed to get him after trading down four times. And they made/saved a lot of money in the process. A decent bit of business for Minnesota, but overshadowed by the Mirotic thing, which they will be reminded of in 2014. Mainly by me, unless I've shut up and gotten a life by then.

Malcolm Lee - Take most of what was previously said about Travis Leslie, and apply it to Malcolm Lee. He's not as athletic, but he has basically the same build, and the same defensive potential. And what he lacks as an athlete and explosive finisher, he makes up for with a better handle, even being able to masquerade as a point guard at times (albeit not especially well). Lee needs to improve his rather erratic jumper in order to be a regular two way player, but he can make it as a defender first, as can Leslie.

The addition of junior college transfer Lazeric Jones has meant that Malcolm Lee no longer has to play point guard or be the primary halfcourt offensive creator. This has allowed Lee to going back to what he does best - namely, guarding the two guard, playing defense, spotting up, and running the court. Lee's shooting efficiency is not good - even though he's better at spotting up than creating off the dribble, he's still not that good at it - and his numbers of 13/3/3/40% are somewhat underwhelming. Nevertheless, the defensive impact is still there. Alongside them in the backcourt, Jeremie Anderson continues to struggle mightily, and by this time is not going to live up to his billing. At the very least, he has tried on defense, and shot the three pointer well this season.